I do not own Lion King, or any recognizable elements. All is copyrighted by Disney. I only own my characters that I have created for this story, as well as the plot. Please don't sue me?

The sun was high in the African sky. Glistening golden orange against a turquoise blue canvas, with shy, pale clouds giving little shade on the sandy desert beneath it. Scarce a wind blew in order to cool the lands.

However, this story doesn't take place in the desert. This story takes place in the scrublands.

Dry, bristly bushes dotted the landscape, with chunks of desert grasses, sharp and arid from the heat and lack of rain, alongside. The soil was mixed with sand, a dark mess. Tunnels dotted the landscape, showing that, although rugged, this place was home to some sort of creature.

That creature was a meerkat.

Or, rather, a family of meerkats. A mob. A colony. However you wish to put it.

Meerkat mobs have a hierarchy that goes back to when time began and the first mobs roamed the African wilderness. There is a dominant male and female pairing, the matriarch and patriarch, and usually it is the female that leads. There are some exceptions to this, however. They live in large family groups, and are very rarely known to strike out on their own, aside from young males seeking the roving life.

Today, however, would be something even rarer.

"Max, please, think about this rationally."

"I've been rational long enough, Nya! We're not accepting this... this Don-Juan-wanna-be into the mob. No way, no how."

"I don't believe it's your decision to make, Maxim."

"But, June -"

"I will not take backtalk, Max. You've made your point."

"Ugh! Stupid females! All alike!"

A young meerkat, probably just over a year old, dark headfur falling slightly into his eyes, looked on with barely restrained hope. This argument was about him.

He had wanted to join the mob.

Max, the main 'kat with protest, had his back against a wall, so to speak. He was facing two females, one his age, one younger. He was old and gray, with a somewhat senile look about him, and had an outraged look on his face. "You'll regret this, June. I know it! I can -"

"Feel it in your old bones, hm?" The older of the two females was almost as gray as Max himself, though she had a wiser look about her, with bright blue eyes. She arched an eyebrow at the 'kat. "Max, you forget, my bones are nearly as old as yours. I think I would be able to feel it as well if I were going to regret this. But I won't. I believe this to be a wise decision." She looked to the younger female. "Nya? What do you think?"

Nya was a rather heavy-set female, with light fur and orange-red headfur, and bright green eyes. She looked at the young rover with appraising eyes, and finally smiled a motherly smile at him. "If my Timmy were in the same position, I'd want someone to take care of him. I'm not going to send a little thing like him out to whether the savanna alone. I would never do that."

The meerkat blushed slightly at her words. His own mother never said anything near as sweet to him as this female did, and she didn't even know his name.

"Then I believe we're in agreement." June looked hard at Max. "And even if we aren't, my judgment overrules that of any protest. So suck it up, Maxy, and deal with it like an adult." She looked over at the meerkat, not caring that Max had huffed at her comment. "Now, how about your name, young'n?"

"N-name?" He stammered. He hadn't thought that far ahead. He rubbed the back of his neck with a paw as he struggled with the words to say. "I, uh... My name..."

"Yes, honey, you're name," Nya smiled at him again, and he blinked at the love they held. What was wrong with her? She didn't even know him, and yet... she was looking at him with love. Motherly love.

He took a deep breath and answered now. "My name's Pirrai." He finally managed to say.

"Pirrai," Nya nodded, still smiling. "Welcome to the Kazi-Kuchimba mob, dear. I'm Nya, that's June, she's our matriarch, and that gray lump of a grumpy-fur is my brother, Max." She shot a disapproving look to him. "Older brother."

"Puh," Max rolled his eyes as he stomped away to the tunnel entrance, his arms crossed, mumbling under his breath.

June rolled her eyes, but looked at Pirrai. She didn't share the motherly look like Nya did, but she didn't outright hate him like Max. She looked at him professionally. "Don't worry about him. He'll accept it, or he'll deal with me." She nodded to Nya, then walked down the tunnels herself.

"Come on, honey," Nya took his paw and lead him towards the tunnels. She looked up at him – she was pretty short for a meerkat. He was at least a head taller than her. "You have the most... unusual eyes. They're simply beautiful." She smiled again.

He blinked his dark gold orbs. "Oh, uh, thanks," he stuttered once more. She gave a quiet chuckle, before leading him below ground for the rest of the afternoon.

He sighed mentally in relief.

He had a home.

WOOT! SEQUEL!

gosh, i have absolutely fallen in love with Pirrai. i've had him planned since, like, the very beginning, and i am in LOVE with him. you guys are gonna like him, i'm sure, LOL.

you guys can probably expect the next chapter or two by the end of the week, hopefully. as stated, got that new years party to crash, so i don't know how long that'll give me for writing time. i'll try my hardest, cause i am PUMPED for this. XD.

also, before i end this, i have to ask: i have recently started planning on writing a prequel to Protector, showing Isha's story. she gave Kaegan and Nato the fast version, skipping MAJOR details, and i love Faraji (her brother) and Safiya (her best friend), so i'm so excited to write the younger them. i also want to delve into Isha's character as an innocent pup, showing how sweet and mischievous she was. anywho, my question to the readers is this: shall i go ahead and write it while working on the sequel or should it wait? doesn't matter to me, but i want to know your opinions. so review and tell me: shall we start with the embarrassing pup stories on Isha?

thanks for reading! and let's hope and pray the sequel gets more reviews than Protector did, though i do value my THREE reviewers very much.